Apparatus for feeding coal or the like



Aug. 13, 1940. w HANNA APPARATUS FOR FEEDING COAL on THE LIKE Filed Nov.9, 1957 EIWQM W I INVENTOR. William 7? Hanna,

@214, Can 29 v M ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 13, 1940 PATENT eerie APPARATUSFOR" FEEDING COAL on THE LIKE William Thompson Hanna, Cincinnati, OhioApplication November 9, 1937, Serial No. 173,559

Claims.

The present invention relates to an improvement in apparatus for feedingcoal or the like. Although not limited in use to automatic locomotive.stokers, it affords certain important ad- 5 vantages when applied tothat type of stoker wherein coal of heterogeneous particle size isautomatically fed to thelocomotive firebox from the coal bin of atender. One'cbject of the invention when so employed isto afford a moredurable and effective tender conveyor and-crusher mechanism to meetcertain problemsarising out of the current tendency toward longer coalbins than those heretofore commonly used with automatic stokers. Afurther object has been to provide a coal feeding device adaptable tothe longerbins without undue increase in'weight and of a type which mayreadily be accommodated in the limited spaceavailab-l-e for such purposeand which will afford increased accessibility for replacement or repairof 'the' wearing parts. Other advantages of the improved apparatus willbe apparent to those skilled in the art.

One embodiment of the invention in a form designed for use withlocomotive stokers is illustrated in the drawing accompanying thepresent specification and in Which- Figure 1 is a plan view;

' Figure 2, a longitudinal vertical section on the line 2-2 of Figure1f;

Figure 3, a transverse section on the line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4, a transverse vertical section on the line 4-4 of Figure 1;

Figure 5, a'transverse vertical section on the line 5-5 of Figure 2;

Figure 6, a transverse section on the line 6-6 .ofFigurelf Figure 7, anoblique longitudinal vertical section on the line 1-1 of Figure l and ofFigure 5,

and

Figure 8, a longitudinal horizontal section on the line 8-8 of Figure 6.

The illustrative apparatus comprises a hopper I having a dischargeopening 2 at its delivery end, Figure 2, a screw conveyor 3 arrangedobliquely to the longitudinal axis of the hopper l, and an auxiliaryscrew conveyor 4 for discharging coal delivered thereto from screwconveyor 3, a crusher 5, and means for actuating said conveyors totransport coal along and from hopper I and deliver the same. in crushedcondition through said discharge opening 2 into a suitable conduit 6leading to a locomotive firebox, not

shown. Y

The hopper 1t: isi'shown-inoperative position below the levelof thetender deck or coal bin floor 1 which customarily includes a pluralityof slidable floor plates 8, Figures 2 and 5. The rear wall 9 of hopper Iis recessed at Ill toprovide an end bearing for the hub of screwconveyor 3, said hub being preferably tapered from its rear to its frontor delivery end.

A portion of the bottom wall of hopper I is shaped to form a trough I I,the longitudinal axis of which is laterally oblique to the centrallongitudinal axis of the hopper as a whole, Figure 1 and to the verticalplane of the central'longitudinalaxis of the tender on which the hopperis mounted. The bottom of trough l i also declines from rear to front,Figure 2, thus producing a 15 corresponding increase in the eifectivecross sectional area of the trough from rear to front.

The front end of the hub of conveyor 3 is journaled at I2, Figure '7, inthe front wall of hop- 7 per I, which with a face plate It encloses agear l4 fixed to said hub and driven by an idler gear l5, Figure 6,actuated in'turn by a pinion IS on a shaft ll. A universal joint 58connects shaft IT with a suitable shaft l9 connected with a power sourcenot shown.

One of the advantages of providing the bottom of the trough H with adecline from its rearward to its forward end is that the tendency of.the fuel being moved through the hopper to wedge between the floor ofthe coal bin and the conveyor is reduced. Where longer bins have beenused with the customary incline toward the delivery end coal sometimespacks requiring an excessive amount of power to keep the conveyor inmotion. A hopper embodying the present invention thus requires lesspower and the bearings and other moving parts are not subjected to theexcessive wear to which they are subjected inthe usual hopperconstruction.

Another portion of hopper l is shaped to form an auxiliary trough orconduit 28 laterally adjacent to and opening into the delivery end oftrough H. The longitudinal axis of trough 20 dips rearwardly and liessubstantially in a vertical plane passing through the centrallongitudinal axis of the hopper, Figure l, and of the tender. The rearwall 2! of auxiliary trough 20 provides a bearing for the rear end ofthe hub of an auxiliary screw conveyor 22, said hub being tapered fromrear to front to facilitate passage of coal from the auxiliary trough 20through the end opening 2 and into the conduit 6 which is in effect amoderately inclined continuation of the fuel passageway afforded byauxiliary trough 20 and vertically aligned therewith and with thecentral longitudinal axis of the tender.

The crusher plate is provided with teeth 23 extending obliquely from itsunder face toward the auxiliary conveyor 22 and cooperating therewith tocrush oversized pieces of coal as they become wedged between the vane ofauxiliary conveyor 22 and the under side of crusher plate 5.

As shown in Figures 2 and. 8, the auxiliary conveyor 22 carries a gear24 enclosed by a face plate 25 in a recess formed in the rear wall 2!.Gear 24 meshes with a gear 26 on shaft 21, the latter being driven by atelescoping shaft 28 preferably universally connected to said shaft 21and to shaft l1, Figures 7 and 8. Thus, power applied to shaft l1,Figures 6 and '7, is transmitted through idler gear 15 to drive conveyor3 and, as above indicated, through telescoping shaft 28 and gear 26, todrive the auxiliary conveyor 22. As shown in Figures 1 and 7, atelescoping shaft 29 is universally connected to be driven by gear l4and to drive other portions (not shown) of the complete stoker assembly.

In the embodiment of the invention as shown in Figures 1 and 2, theconveyor 3 is.provided with separate vanes 30 and 3| of opposite pitcharranged on the hub with their respective delivery ends spaced apart andopposite the opening from trough ll into auxiliary trough 20. It will beunderstood that the function of vane 3| is to clear coal from theforward end of the bin and to cooperate with vane 30 in feeding coallaterally from trough l I into trough 2B. A deflecting plate 32 locatedopposite a portion of the space between the delivery ends of vanes 30and 31 facilitates the lateral feed of coal by cooperative action ofsaid vanes.

In operation, the screw conveyor vanes 30 and 3| feed coal intoauxiliary trough 20 where it is crushed if necessary against crusher 5and discharged through opening 2 by the auxiliary conveyor 22. Theprovision of this effective lateral feed permits the advantageous use ofthe front end drive particularly with long bins. The increasing crosssectional area of trough H from rear to front and the tapering hub ofconveyor 3 facilitate coal movement along said trough. Furthermore, theoblique arrangement of trough I l permits lateral feed of coal therefromto auxiliary trough 20 without undue increase in weight of the hopper asa whole and permits the use of a front end drive of sturdy design andconstruction within the limited space available for such purposes in theusual locomotive tender.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for feeding coal or the like comprising a hopper having adischarge opening, one portion of the bottom wall of said hopper beingshaped to form a conveyor trough of which the longitudinal axis lies atan angle to the longitudinal axis of the hopper and another portion ofsaid bottom wall being shaped to form an auxiliary trough at one side ofsaid conveyor trough and said troughs having an unrestricted passagewaybetween the sides thereof for the. flow of coal from the conveyor troughto the auxiliary trough, a screw conveyor in said conveyor trough, gearmeans located beneath the tender for applying driving force to saidscrew conveyor at its discharge end, and an auxiliary'conveyor in theauxiliary trough positioned to discharge coal through said dischargeopening and driving means for driving said auxiliary conveyor.

2. In combination with a locomotive and tender,

apparatus for feeding coal or the like comprising a hopper locatedbeneath the tender and having a discharge opening, one portion of thebottom wall of said hopper being shaped to form a conveyor trough ofwhich the longitudinal axis lies at an angle to the longitudinal axis ofthe hopper, said trough increasing in effective cross sectional areatoward its discharge end, and another portion of said bottom wall beingshaped to form an auxiliary trough the side of which opens into one sideof said conveyor trough, and said discharge opening being in the forwardwall of said auxiliary trough, a screw conveyor in said conveyor trough,means for applying driving force to said conveyor at its discharge end,and an auxiliary screw conveyor in the auxiliary trough positioned todischarge coal through said discharge opening.

3. Apparatus for feeding coal or the like comprising a hopper having adischarge opening, one portion of the bottom wall of said hopper beingshaped to form a conveyor trough, and another portion of said bottomwall being shaped to form a short auxiliary trough at one side of saidconveyor trough and provided with an unrestricted opening in the sidethereof communicating with said conveyor trough, and said dischargeopening being in the forward wall of said auxiliary trough, a screwconveyor in said conveyor trough, means for applying driving force tosaid conveyor at its discharge end, and an auxiliary screw conveyor inthe auxiliary trough positioned to discharge coal through said dischargeopening and means for applying driving force to said auxiliary screwconveyor at its rearward end and a crusher. in said auxiliary troughcooperating with said auxiliary screw conveyor.

4. In a locomotive tender having a fuel bin arranged to dischargethrough an aperture in the tender floor, the combination of a stokertrough mounted beneath said bin and apertured to receive fuel therefromand having its longitudinal axis inclined laterally at an angle to thevertical medial plane of the tender, and a conduit mounted on the tenderwith its longitudinal axis substantially in said vertical medial planethereof and the fuel receiving end thereof being offset laterally andvertically from the delivery end of said trough, a fuel conveyor in thetrough, a fuel conveyor in the conduit, drive transmission means at thefront end of the trough and connected to drive said fuel conveyortherein, and drive transmission means at the rear of said conduit andconnected to drive said conduit conveyor to deliver fuel in said conduitfrom a position rearwardly of said first mentioned drive transmission toa position in advance thereof.

5. Locomotive stoker mechanism of the type wherein the locomotive tenderhas a conveyor trough to receive coal from the tender bin and feed itforwardly to a transfer conduit provided between the locomotive and thetender to pass coal from the delivery end of the conveyor trough to thelocomotive firebox, and further characterized in that the conveyortrough is arranged with its longitudinal axis at an angle to thevertical medial plane of the tender and of said transfer conduit anddips forwardly with its delivery end offset laterally and verticallyfrom the inlet end of said transfer conduit, and an intermediate troughprovided to receive coal from said conveyor trough and pass it into saidtransfer conduit and arranged with its longitudinal axis laterally andvertically offset from that of the conveyor trough and substantially inthe vertical medial plane of the tender and of said transfer conduit anddips rearwardly from the inlet end of said transfer conduit.

6. Locomotive stoker mechanism of the type wherein the locomotive tenderhas a coal bin with an apertured floor and a hopper mounted below saidbin and a transfer conduit mounted between the locomotive firebox-andthe delivery end of said hopper, said mechanism including a screwconveyor in said hopper arranged with its axis at an angle to thevertical medial plane of the tender and inclined downwardly from rear tofront thereof, a screw conveyor in the transfer conduit arranged withits axis substantially in .the vertical medial plane of the tender, anauxiliary trough on the tender to receive coal from the hopper and passit into said transfer conduit, a screw conveyor in the auxiliary trougharranged with its axis substantially in the vertical medial plane of thetender and dipping rearwardly and with its forward end operativelyconnected to drive said screw conveyor in the transfer conduit, adriving gear mounted at the forward end of said hopper to drive thescrew conveyor, therein, a driving gear mounted at the rear end of saidauxiliary trough to drive the screw conveyor therein, a shaftoperatively connecting said driving gears, and a drive shaft connectedto actuate said first mentioned driving gear.

7. In a locomotive stoker, in combination, a tender hopper adapted to belocated beneath the fuel bin of the tender, said hopper having a maintrough extending forwardly from the medial vertical plane of the tenderat an angle with respect thereto, and having a second trough disposed infront of said first trough and having its axis in said vertical medialplane, said troughs opening into each other from their sides and havingcommon-oppositely disposed side walls, and a screw conveyor lying insaid first trough and extending substantially the length of said secondtrough, and a second screw conveyor located in said second trough anddisplaced laterally and downwardly with respect to said first conveyor.

8. In a stoker for locomotive and tender for unloading fuel from atender and conveying it to the fire box of a locomotive, in combination,a tender hopper adapted to be located below the floor of said tender, amain trough in said hopper extending substantially the full lengththereof, a short trough in said hopper offset from said main trough andprovided with an unrestricted passage for the flow of fuel thereto fromsaid main trough, a transfer conduit adapted to connect the delivery endof said short trough and said locomotive fire box, a screw conveyor insaid first trough, means for drivingsaid screw conveyor, a second screwconveyor in said short trough and extending into said transfer conduit,a fuel crusher mounted in said short trough, and means for driving saidsecond named screw conveyor from its rearward end.

9. In a stoker for locomotive and tender for unloading fuel from atender and conveying it to the fire 'box of a locomotive, incombination, a tender hopper adapted to be located below the floor ofsaid tender, a main trough in said hopper extending substantially thefull length thereof, an auxiliary trough in said hopper and anunrestricted passage connecting the side of said main trough near itsdelivery end with a side of said auxiliary trough, a screw conveyor insaid main trough extending substantially the full length of the mouth ofsaid passage and provided with means for urging the fuel moving alongthe trough to diverge sidewardly' into said auxiliary trough, and ascrew conveyor in said auxiliary trough for moving the fueltherethr'ough.

10. In a locomotive stoker, in combination, a tender hopper adapted tobe located beneath the fuel bin of the tender, said hopper having a maintrough extending forwardly from the rearward end of said bin and havinga second trough disposed beside the forward end of said first trough,said troughs opening into each other from their sides and having commonoppositely disposed side walls, and a screw conveyor lying in said firsttrough and extending substantially the length of said second trough, anda second screw conveyor located in said second trough.

WILLIAM THOMPSON HANNA.

